Bus Stop Systems and Methods of Scheduling

ABSTRACT

Methods of providing services to individual and methods of manufacturing items are described. Data structures to represent priority values for those individuals or items are also described. By ascribing priority values to a set of items, those items can be grouped based on those priority values. Once grouped based on priority values, the items within each group can be manufactured according to group priority as well as according to the characteristics of each item to be manufactured within that group. The same concept applies to providing services to individuals.

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/417,922, titled “BUS STOP SYSTEMS AND METHODS OFSCHEDULING”, filed Jan. 27, 2017, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/889,786, titled “BUS STOP SYSTEMS AND METHODS OFSCHEDULING”, filed May 8, 2013. This and all other extrinsic materialsdiscussed herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Wherea definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference isinconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein,the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definitionof that term in the reference does not apply

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is automated scheduling of equipment andother resources.

BACKGROUND

There are many types of things that can be advantageously scheduled.This includes usage of manufacturing or other types of equipment,various tools, consumables, people, animals, buildings, rooms or otherlocations, and even intangibles such as procedures and access to data,software, sensors, etc. Indeed, as used herein, the term “resources”should be interpreted broadly to include anything that the use of whichcan be scheduled.

The importance of scheduling in a manufacturing environment can beobviated to some extent by increasing inventory, either finished goodsinventory or work in process inventory. But the tradeoff is not alwayssatisfactory. Inventory is expensive to produce and store, and suffersfrom possible degradation and obsolescence. In addition to the stockreplenishment model, scheduling is important in make-to-ordermanufacturing environments, where shop orders are associated with aclient order, and poor scheduling can result in extremely inefficientoperation.

In service fields, trying to minimize the importance of scheduling byincreasing inventory is either not even possible because the “product”being provided either cannot be stored, or is impractical because the“product” is unique to a particular circumstance. For example, medicalexaminations cannot be inventoried for future use, and must be done onspecific patients, when the patients are available and the need arises.Analogous situations exist for plumbers, electricians and other serviceprofessionals, who only have so much time each day, and must maximizeservice time and minimize transit time.

Years ago Toyota Production System (TPS) pioneered the concept of “leanmanufacturing,” which was designed to reduce inventory costs ofmanufactured goods by producing the goods according to efficientproduction cycles. Among other things, TPS-type strategies designproduction cycles that minimize setup costs for making different partson a given machine. Thus, if a machine is used to produce parts 1-6, itmay be that the sum of all the setup times to produce each of the partsis smallest in the following cycle, 1 =>3 =>4 =>6 =>2=>5=>1 . . . . .Once a cycle is determined to be the most cost-effective or a givenpiece of equipment, TPS-type systems continue to use that equipmentaccording to that cycle, regardless of short term fluctuations indemand.

Although TPS systems have gained the most acceptance in manufacture oftangible goods, analogous strategies can be used in other contexts. Forexample in scheduling a conference room that is used for the same fourmeetings each day, with meetings 1 and 3 requiring tables and chairs,and meeting 2 and 4 requiring only chairs, a TPS type system mightschedule the meetings in the order of 1=>3=>2=>4 rather than 1=>2=>3=>4to minimize the setup time with respect to the tables.

Further discussion of TPS type scheduling can be found in U.S. Pat. No.7,908,127 to Weignang et al. (2011), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,889,178 toChacon (2005). Patents addressing sophisticate scheduling systems thatdo not use TPS include U.S. Pat. No. 8,185,422 to Yurekli (2012),US20070021998 to Laithwaite (publ. 2007), and US20090315735 to Bhavani(publ. 2009). These and all other extrinsic materials discussed hereinare incorporated by reference in their entirety. Where a definition oruse of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contraryto the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of thatterm provided herein applies and the definition of that term in thereference does not apply.

Interestingly, despite years of experience with TPS type scheduling, inmany countries around the globe, there is still a need for systems andmethods that can adapt such systems, in real time, to changes inshort-term demand for parts scheduled to be produced according to apre-established cycle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The inventive subject matter provides apparatus, systems and methods inwhich demand data is used to modify a previously established cycle foruse of a resource, at least in part by bypassing (skipping over) one,two, or perhaps three or more of the steps in the cycle. When doneappropriately, the inventive subject matter can improve at least onemeasure of efficiency.

Demand data can be acquired from any suitable sources, includingespecially electronic or printed orders. Of particular interest isdemand data that reflects quantities and delivery or production dates,and flexibility in production (which should be construed as performancein the case of a service).

A previously established cycle can be one in which a sequence for use ofthe resource is optimized by minimizing or at least reducing one or morecosts. In this context all possible costs are contemplated, includingespecially any one or more of setup costs, runtime or other activitytime costs, energy costs, disposal costs, loss of business costs,penalty costs, and reputation costs. It is also contemplated thatindividual steps can have substeps, so that, for example, a sequencecould be optimized based on minimizing or reducing a cost related to oneor more substeps. As used herein, the “minimizing” means reducingsomething to a lowest commercially practical level, which might or mightnot be zero, and which might or might not be the lowest possible level.

Improvement in one measure of efficiency can be found in reducing a costby bypassing the aforementioned steps. Such costs can be specific to theresource or type of resource. By way of example, where the resourcebeing scheduled is a machine, the setup costs can be associated withre-tooling the machine, which for example, can include physicalre-tooling and/or running different software. For software, setup costscan be associated with gaining access to, or perhaps training in use ofthe software. For labor, setup costs can be associated with getting aperson to a desired location, training, dealing with safety issues,and/or outfitting the person for service, with protective gear or otherappropriate clothing, or in some other manner. For a consumable, setupcosts can be associated with getting the consumable to a desiredlocation, and/or outfitting preparing the consumable for use. Where theresource is a physical location, setup costs can be associated withprepping the location for use, which could, for example, includebringing a piece of equipment at the location and/or configuring a pieceof equipment already at the location.

Improvement in another measure of efficiency can be found in increasedproduction (increased capacity utilization) from one or more resources.

In many cases, resources are used to produce product(s). Productsproduced in accordance with the inventive subject matter canadvantageously be grouped into families, and possibly subfamilies. Inthe case of physical products, families might include different sizes,components, wirings etc. of a given part or assembly. An example is afamily of screws, where the family includes different lengths, threadconfigurations and head shapes for a given diameter shaft. In the caseof service products, families might include variations on a givenmedical or other procedure. Family designations are considered mostuseful where there are relatively smaller variations in costs ofsequentially producing different members of the family relative to afamily member and a non-family member. Subfamily members are consideredto have even smaller such variations in costs.

Software implementing aspects of the inventive subject matter can bewritten to metaphorically relate to a bus or other transportationrouting system, where different steps in production of a single product(or different products) are undertaken at the different stops along theroute. Although not at all necessary, the inventors have found that useof a bus stop metaphor is particularly useful in allowing others toappreciate the many benefits of the contemplated systems, apparatus andmethods.

Electronics to perform that processing contemplated herein can belocated local or distal to the resource(s) being scheduled and/orre-scheduled.

In another aspect of the inventive subject matter, a method ofmanufacturing multiple items is contemplated. The method requires anumber of steps to be performed, though not necessarily in a particularorder. First, it requires assigning priority values to each of the itemsbased at least in part upon relative demand for those items. Second, itrequires grouping the items into at least a two groups to bemanufactured according to their respective priority values. Third, itrequires assigning first and second tasks (e.g., physical attributes ofeach item in the set of jobs), and corresponding task values, to be usedin manufacturing each of the items in the first and second groups.Fourth, it requires prioritizing manufacturing of the first group ofitems relative to the second group of items. And finally, it requires,within the first group, executing the first task for the items accordingto a logical progression of the corresponding task values, followed byexecuting the second task for the items according to another logicalprogression of the corresponding task values. In some embodiments, thelogical progressions can be based on color, dimension, material,preparation time, and completion time.

In some embodiments, the priority value is a data structure having atleast 32 bits, 64 bits, and 128 bits. The priority value can be brokeninto multiple groups of bits, and each group of bits includes at leastone or more bits. In some embodiments, each group of bits can representa business rule. In some embodiments, the number of items that can begrouped together is fixed.

In another aspect of the inventive subject matter, a data structure toimprove manufacturing coordination is contemplated. The data structureincludes a set of digital representations of items to be manufactured,where each digital representation has a priority value and the priorityvalue includes a plurality of bits (e.g., 32 bits, 64 bits, and 128bits). The plurality of bits are broken into at least two groups ofbits, where the groups of bits all represent business rules (e.g.,activity indicator, an anchoring indicator, a due date, a duration, ajob priority, an organization priority, an item number priority). Insome embodiments, each digital representation of an item to bemanufactured also includes one or more tasks, each task having a taskvalue.

In yet another aspect of the inventive subject matter, a method ofproviding services to individual persons is contemplated. The methodincludes the following steps, in no particular order: (1) assigningpriority values to each of the individual persons based at least in parton relative needs of those individual persons for one or more of theservices; (2) grouping the individual persons into multiple groups(e.g., groups having a fixed quantity of people assigned to them) to beserviced according to their respective priority values; (3) assigningservices, and corresponding service values, to be applied to each of theindividual persons in the multiple groups; and (4) prioritizingservicing of one group relative to another group. Within the grouphaving a higher priority, the method requires providing services to theindividual persons according to a logical progression of thecorresponding service values. In some embodiments, a logical progressionis determined at least in part according to difficulty in performing aservice in a progression other than the logical progression.

Preferred embodiments of the method additionally require providingservices to the individual persons in the lower priority group accordingto another logical progression of the corresponding service values. Thissecond logical progression is determined at least in part according todifficulty in performing the services in a progression other than thesecond logical progression.

In some embodiments, the priority values are data structures having atleast 32 bits, 64 bits, or 128 bits. The data structures can also bebroken into multiple groups of bits, each group of bits representingdifferent service rules (e.g., an urgency, a duration, an organizationalpriority, and a severity).

One should appreciate that the disclosed techniques provide manyadvantageous technical effects including modification of a previouslyoptimized Kanban schedule to accommodate changes in demand data for aproduct being produced according the schedule.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventivesubject matter will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanyingdrawing figures in which like numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a schematic of a computer system according to the inventivesubject matter.

FIG. 2A is a schematic of a sequence in a cycle that can be used inscheduling a resource to produce N products.

FIGS. 2B, 2C, 2D, 2E and 2F are all schematics of the same cycle as FIG.2A, but modified to skip one or more steps of substeps.

FIG. 3 is a schematic of an interface for software that utilizes a busstop metaphor to assist in scheduling a resource.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a method of manufacturing itemsbased on item priority values and item characteristics.

FIG. 5 illustrates a data structure to represent priority values asdescribed in this application.

FIG. 6 illustrates an embodiment of a method of providing services toindividuals based on individual priority values.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following discussion provides several example embodiments of theinventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a singlecombination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter isconsidered to include all possible combinations of the disclosedelements. Thus if one embodiment comprises elements A, B, and C, and asecond embodiment comprises elements B and D, then the inventive subjectmatter is also considered to include other remaining combinations of A,B, C, or D, even if not explicitly disclosed.

In FIG. 1 an exemplary computer system 10 has inputs of demand datasource(s) 20, resource availability data source(s) 30, and resourcefeedback data source(s) 40. Each of the data sources 20, 30, and 40comprise one or more physical electronics, which can be other computersystems, cell phones, tablets, PDAs, keyboards and mice, and so forth.It is especially contemplated that one or more cell phone or otherdevices with a wireless communication capability can be used to operateas one or more of the data sources, 20, 30, 40, so that, for example, aperson can provide data to the computer system 10 as he/she walks arounda production facility, sales floor, or other environment. Computersystem 10 outputs a schedule 50, which can be provided as a paperprintout, a visual display, an electronic file, or in any other format.

Computer system 10 can be any suitable general or special purposecomputing device having a processing unit 11, a system memory 12, a massstorage memory 13, an input/output unit 14, and a system bus 15 thatcouples various system components including the system memory 12 to theprocessing unit 11. The processing unit 11 can perform arithmetic, logicand/or control operations under control of software running on anoperating system. The system memory 12 can have any suitable physicalcharacteristics, and can be any combination of volatile and non-volatilememory. Data records storing information relating to demand data,resource availability and feedback are preferably stored on the massstorage memory 13, and more preferably in a database structure.

Although in many practical embodiments, computer system 10 will be localto the factory, hospital or other facility from which products are beingproduced. It is contemplated, however, that one or more of thefunctionalities of the various components of computer system 10 can bevirtualized distally, in a cloud computing environment or otherwise.

FIG. 2A diagrams a sequence of N steps used to produce N differentproducts, respectively, with the arrows designating a Kanban typedefault sequence previously considered to be a most efficient, or atleast a particularly efficient sequence according to a measure ofefficiency.

As used herein, the term “product” should be interpreted broadly hereinto include anything that the production of which can be scheduled. Thisincludes include both tangible and intangible products, and alsoservices. Thus, the product of a patent attorney could be a patentapplication or a patent filing, the product of a physician could be amedical examination, and the product of a quality assurance examinercould be a certification or an approval report. A product could also bevirtual, such that the product of an office worker could be storage ofinformation, which might be perceivable only in the form of a report, aspreadsheet, a drawing, etc.

As used herein in the context of a service type of product, “production”of the product should be interpreted herein to mean performing orotherwise provisioning of the service. For example, if an officeworker's product is spell-checking a document, production of thatservice could mean the act of spell-checking the document, or perhapsobtaining the services of another to spell-check the document.

As used herein the term “provisioning” means making available, includingmanufacturing, making, obtaining, securing, and otherwise providing.

As used herein with respect to products, the term “part” can refer to atangible component of a tangible product, or an intangible component ofsoftware or other intangible product, and analogously, portions of aservice being provided. In some instances a product can comprise asingle part, which is then sold or otherwise provided to a marketplace.In such instances the terms “part” and “product” would be co-extensive.In other instances a product could comprise multiple parts. In yet otherinstances, a part could be a product in itself, and also one of multipleparts in a product. For example, a computer manufacturing company mightmanufacture electronic boards, and sell them as standalone products. Thesame company might also include those boards in a computer, and thensell the computer as a product.

Products can be viewed as members of one or more families. Thus,different sizes of screws could be considered members of a family ofscrews, with different sub-families based on thread pattern or headshape. Service products are also contemplated to exist in families. Forexample, where a product is a medical procedure or running of adiagnostic test, a family could include similar types of procedures ortests.

In general, the concept of product families as used in the context ofscheduling, refers to parts or products that have similar resourcerequirements. Thus, referring back to the example of a family of screws,production of each of the different types of screws in a family wouldtend to use the same type of raw material, the same milling equipment,similar tooling within the equipment, and so forth.

Contemplated cycles can have any realistic number of steps, andsubsteps. A cycle having only one or two steps and no substeps, however,is of no consequence, and is expressly excluded from the terms “cycle”or “cycles as those terms are used herein. Thus, in FIG. 2, steps 4-Nare optional. At the other extreme, a cycle having hundreds of steps orsubsteps might be so complex that systems and methods contemplatedherein would be of minimal value. The sweet spot is probably workingwith cycles that have a total of five to fifty steps and substeps.

Different steps in a cycle can be associated with production of the sameor different products. For example, in a manufacturing context,different steps could be associated with producing different sizes,configurations, components and wirings of the same or analogous parts.In the particular example of construction of a desktop computer,different steps could involve inserting a disk drive, an internal memorycard, an interface card, and so forth.

In FIG. 2B, the sequence of N steps used to produce N products has beenaltered in accordance with demand data so that step 5 is skipped, thusprecluding production of product 5.

Demand data used to skip step 5 in FIG. 2B, or other steps in otherFigures, can be acquired from any suitable sources, including especiallyelectronic or printed orders. Of particular interest is demand data thatreflects quantities and delivery or production dates, and flexibility inproduction (which should be construed as performance in the case of aservice).

Demand data used to skip step 5 in FIG. 2B, or other steps in otherFigures, is preferably data reflecting expected medium term demand,which is defined herein to cover a time period of between 3 and 14 days,more preferably between 5 and 9 days, and most preferably 7 days.

Unless the context dictates the contrary, all ranges set forth hereinshould be interpreted as being inclusive of their endpoints, andopen-ended ranges should be interpreted to include commerciallypractical values. Similarly, all lists of values should be considered asinclusive of intermediate values unless the context indicates thecontrary.

In FIG. 2C, the sequence of N steps used to produce N products has beenaltered in accordance with demand data so that steps 3 and 4 are bothskipped, thus precluding production of products 3 and 4.

In FIG. 2D, the sequence of N steps used to produce N products has beenaltered in accordance with demand data so that steps 3, 4, and 5 are allskipped, thus precluding production of products 3, 4 and 5.

In FIG. 2E, the sequence of N steps used to produce N products has beenaltered in accordance with demand data so that steps 3, 4, 6 and 7 areall skipped, thus precluding production of products 3, 4, 6 and 7.

FIG. 2F shows the same sequence of N steps used to produce N products asin FIGS. 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E. Here, however, step 5 (used to produceproduct 5) is expanded to show substeps 5 a, 5 b and 5 c. In thisparticular instance, and production has been has been altered byskipping substeps 5 b and 5 c, in accordance with demand data.

It is also contemplated that the demand data might present a situationwhere a default schedule is modified in a manner that is less efficientaccording to the measure of efficiency. For example, if the demand dataincludes information that demand for the first item is flexible whiledemand for the second item is inflexible, it might be advantageous forthe system to skip over at least one of the steps or substeps involvedin producing the first item, even though there are high costs andlowered efficiency in doing so. This might well happen in the case of ahospital, where surgeries are scheduled in a surgical suite according toan efficient cycle of staff availability and prep/cleanup times. If thehospital is suddenly confronted with the need to perform an emergencysurgical procedure, the demand is so high and so inflexible that itmakes sense to skip over one or more previously established steps.

In another example, the demand data may show that a first product isneeded at an unusually high volume. In that case a default schedulemight be modified in a manner that bypasses production of that producton the usual machine, so that the product can be produced on a differentmachine that can handle higher volumes.

Systems and methods contemplated herein can interface with a user in anysuitable manner. In many instances, however, the interface will becomputer generated, and will render information to the user on paper orusing some sort of visual display. Displaying information in the form ofmetaphors can be helpful in that regard, and one class of metaphors thatis thought to be especially valuable are metaphors that treat steps of acycle as being carried by a transport. Transport metaphors that arecurrently thought to be useful include one or more of a bus, train or aship carrying a set of orders or other requirements around a route withstops along the way corresponding to the steps of a cycle. FIG. 3 is anexample of such an interface suing a bus stop metaphor to assist inscheduling a resource.

Although various parameters are presented to users within the context ofa metaphor, the computer software and hardware providing the metaphorwould very likely store the related information as records in anelectronic file using some form of database records.

EXAMPLE 1

A manufacturing company produces precision optics, where fabricatedparts are machined for assembly. These machined parts are stored in a“supermarket” between machining and assembly using a Kanban type systemto signal a requirement back to machining as assembly consumes them.These parts have a consistent demand with the some parts being consumeddaily in assembly. The three issues of greatest concern are: dailymaterial shortages, excess inventory and machining capacity. Thesolution is to establish a bus route methodology and to “right size” theKanban quantities.

The assets that are the most capacity-constrained are the Swiss TurningCenters, so that is where the bus route methodology was deployed. First,families of similar parts were defined regardless of what specific assetwas producing them using the router as the initial set of data. Thesimilarities indicated what tools were being employed and this wasvalidated in the second pass at families. The programs were thenevaluated and revised to ensure the same locations were used for thesame tools. At this point a capacity check was performed to validate thefamily definition was within the desired load for an asset.

A sequence was then defined for every part within the families for eachasset that minimized the changeover time from part to part. Thissequence only took into account tooling and changeover similarities.Demand variation had no impact on the family definition, or placement inthe sequence.

A demand accumulation period was then defined as a week. Because theparts were fairly consistent in demand, it was determined that a weekwould be long enough to accumulate enough demand across each family totake enough advantage of the changeover optimization.

In execution, demand accumulates for a week, the parts that need to beproduced are then placed in the appropriate sequence and a schedule isprovided to machining for the following week by turning asset. Thecritical step, with respect to the currently claimed subject matter, isthat any parts that were in the sequence, but did not have any demandfor the week were skipped.

The results were an increase in capacity by about 20% as changeovertimes were reduced and a decrease in inventory by about $3M for themachined parts. As the company had about 37 Swiss Turning Centers, about$250 to $300K each, the cost avoidance was about 7 Turning Centers orabout $2 M in saved capital expenditure.

EXAMPLE 2

A MTO (make to order) fabrication company supplies various agricultural,automotive and other markets. This company does both repetitive parts,as well as “one off” parts. They typically cut sheet metal via laser orpunch, brake (bend), stamp, deburr, and sometimes punch or machine. Thetwo issues of greatest concern are: machine capacity and response time.

The assets that were perceived as the most capacity constrained were thebrakes. So that is where the bus route methodology was implemented.Where other machining have many “pockets” for tools, or a tool holderattached to a machine, brakes are limited by the width of the bed andthe depth of each individual tool. So, changeovers can be lengthy andmay be required when performing multiple bends on the same part on thesame machine.

Families of similar parts were established using the prints thatindicated similar tooling requirements and size of part. The tools werethen evaluated to determine which asset could be used. Then materialthickness was reviewed as the amount of force required to bend the partincreases with material thickness and the available assets had varyingtonnage capacity. A capacity check was then performed to ensure thedesired load was reflected in the part families selected by asset.

A sequence was then developed by first identifying the parts that usedthe same bottom half of the tool and then the appropriate sequence forthe replacement of the top half. This defined the first family. Thisprogression was repeated until all the families were defined for thatasset.

A demand accumulation period was then defined as a week. It wasdetermined that a week would be long enough to accumulate enough demandacross each family to take enough advantage of the changeoveroptimization as a starting point. The accumulation period was to bereviewed over time by asset and changed as appropriate.

A brake was paired with either a laser, or a punch and the output ofthose assets went immediately to the brake when each sheet was cut.

In execution, demand accumulates for a week, the parts that need to beproduced are then placed in the appropriate sequence and a schedule isprovided to the laser or punch for the following week by the brakesequence. Here again, the critical step with respect to the currentlyclaimed subject matter, is that any parts that were in the sequence, butdid not have any demand for the week were skipped.

It was estimated that the bus route would provide an increase in brakeproduction capacity by about 15 to 17%.

FIG. 4 illustrates the flow of a method of manufacturing multiple items.The method generally includes five steps 414, 416, 418, 420, and 422. Inthe first step 414, priority values are assigned to items to bemanufactured 402, 404, 406, and 408. The priority values P₁, P₂, P₃, andP₄, for example, can be based at least in part upon relative demand formanufacture of those items 402, 404, 406, and 408. Demand can bequantified in a number of ways. For example, priority can be related toa demand among consumers, or it can be a demand for a particular part tobe completed in order for a larger component to be manufactured orcompleted.

Priority values are described more thoroughly in the context of FIG. 5.FIG. 5 is a visual representation of a contemplated data structure 500.The data structure 500 includes various priority values P₁ (502), P₂(504), through P_(n) (506) such that the data structure 500 can hold nnumber priority values. Each priority value within the data structure500 is then represented by some number of bits 524. For example, apriority value can be represented using between 1-16, 16-32, 32-64,64-128, 128-256, and so on, depending on bit lengths required toadequately express a priority value. In some embodiments, for example,priority values can include 32, 64, 128, or even 256 bits. The effect ofincreasing or reducing the number of bits is that the number of cyclesrequired to process each priority value can increase or decrease.

Taking priority value P₁ (502) as an example, the bits 524 making up thepriority value 502 are broken into different bit groups 508, 510, 512,514, 516, 518, 520, and 522. Each bit group 508, 510, 512, 514, 516,518, 520, and 522 represents a different quantity, quality, or attributethat contributes to determination of overall priority of the item havingthat priority value. For example, bit groups can represent: demand foran item, whether an item must be anchored, a duration to manufacture anitem, a due date for the item to be manufactured, an internal priority,a part number priority, an organizational priority, an assemblypriority, or any other type of quantity, quality, or attribute thatcould be used to determine priority.

In some embodiments, the bit groups 508, 510, 512, 514, 516, 518, 520,and 522 can be organized into different sequences. Bit groups can besequenced according to which of them are more pertinent to a priorityvalue. For example, if the most important attribute of an item to bemanufactured is demand for that item, then the bit group representingdemand could be placed first in the sequence of bit groups for thatparticular priority value. Each sequential bit group ordered after thefirst bit group would similarly represent less and less “important”quantities, qualities, or attributes of the item to be manufactured.More generally, bit groups representing business rules are placed beforeother, lower precedence bit groups.

In a second step 416, once all of the items to be manufactured 402, 404,406, and 408 are assigned priority values P₁, P₂, P₃, and P₄, the itemsare then placed into at least two different groups 410 and 412. Itemsgroups 410 and 412 are created according to the assigned priority valuesP₁, P₂, P₃, and P₄. For example, items with higher priority values(e.g., P₃ and P₂ in the example in FIG. 4) are grouped into a firstgroup 410, and items with relatively lower priority values (e.g., P₄ andP₁ in the example in FIG. 4) are grouped into subsequent groups (e.g.,group 412 in the example in FIG. 4).

In step 418, each of the items to be manufactured 402, 404, 406, and 408is also assigned a task value T₁, T₂, T₃, and T₄. Task values T₁, T₂,T₃, and T₄ are used to determine an order of manufacture or executionwithin each of the groups 410 and 412 which were defined based onpriority values P₁, P₂, P₃, and P₄. In some embodiments, task values T₁,T₂, T₃, and T₄ can include attributes of a manufacturing task, such assize, color, type, material, required tooling, and so on.

Task values can be a variety of attributes of a particular item to bemanufactured. For example, in the context of manufacturing a bicycle,task values can correspond to a part (frame, fork, seat, wheel, cog,etc.), a color (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, etc.),a material (steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, etc.), and so on.

In step 420, the different groups 410 and 412 of items to bemanufactured 402, 404, 406, and 408 are prioritized according to whichgroup should be manufactured first. This step can alternatively beviewed as placing the items having high priority values into the firstgroup to be manufactured and the items having lower priorities beingplaced into each subsequent group of items to be manufactured.

In step 422, as mentioned above, the items to be manufactured 402, 404,406, and 408 within each of the groups 410 and 412 are placed into anorder for manufacture based on the task values T₁, T₂, T₃, and T₄corresponding to each of the different items to be manufactured 402,404, 406, and 408. Once this step is completed, the items to bemanufactured 402, 404, 406, and 408 will have been sorted firstaccording to priority values P₁, P₂, P₃, and P₄ and second according totask values T₁, T₂, T₃, and T₄ among the items within each of thegroups.

After each of steps 414 through 420 are completed, the task values T₁and T₄ associated with each of the items to be manufactured 404 and 406within the higher prioritized group 412 are executed according to alogical progression. A logical progression can be defined according toone or more the task values T₁ and T₄. For example, a logicalprogression could be based on color, dimension, material, preparationtime, completion time, item type, etc., or it could also be based onsome combination thereof.

FIG. 6 illustrates the flow of a method of providing services toindividuals in a similar manner to that of the method in FIG. 4. Themethod described in FIG. 6 facilitates the provision of services toindividuals 602, 604, 606, and 608 by in a first step 614 assigningpriority values P₅, P₆, P₇, and P₈ to those individuals based at leastin part on the relative needs of each of those individuals for variousservices.

Services provided using the method can vary and fall within manydifferent categories. In some embodiments, the services are medical innature. In the context of medical service provision, the services can beany type of medical service including, for example, various stages oftriage care, checkups, therapies (e.g., physical, speech, etc.),surgeries (e.g., in-patient or out-patient), or any other type of careincluding the subsets of services associates with those types of care).In another context, services can be physical activity oriented. Forexample, in the context of a summer camp services can include horsebackriding, water skiing, jumping rope, singing campfire songs, and so on.Each of these activities can also include subset of services that couldsimilarly be considered services within the meaning of this application.For example, jumping rope could include the service of providing a jumprope and then providing instructions.

Priority values P₅, P₆, P₇, and P₈ in the context of FIG. 6 can be baseda number of different types of priorities. For example, priority valuesP₅, P₆, P₇, and P₈ can be based on a priority for an individual toreceive a particular service. In other embodiments, priority values canindicate a more general concept of priority by taking into account manydifferent factors. As described more thoroughly in the context of FIG.5, priority values can be expressed as strings of bits, where differentgroups of those bits represent different considerations regardingpriority. In the context of providing services, bit groups canrepresent, for example: need for a service, demand for a service,duration of time required to provide service, times that the service isprovided, present availability of a service, distance to a service,availability of a specialist required for the service, etc.

Once priority values P₅, P₆, P₇, and P₈ are assigned to each of theindividuals 602, 604, 606, and 608, the next step 616 involves groupingthe individuals according to their associated priority values P₅, P₆,P₇, and P₈. In the example in FIG. 6 only two groups 610 & 612 ofindividuals are formed, but in some embodiments additional groups canalso be formed, depending on how many individuals there are and alsobased on how many individuals should exist per group. Groups can berestricted to only a certain number of individuals in some embodiments(e.g., 1-5, 5-10, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25 individuals per group). The sizeof a group can be defined arbitrarily (e.g., manually), it can bedefined as a function of availability of a service, or it can be definedas a function of demand for a service.

Once individuals 602, 604, 606, and 608 are placed into groups 610 &612, the next step 618 involves assigning service values S₁, S₂, S₃, andS₄ to the individuals 602, 604, 606, and 608. In some embodiments,services are assigned to the groups (e.g., determining a service that agroup needs and subsequently assigning that service to the group so thatthe group will ultimately be provided that service). In otherembodiments, services are instead assigned to individuals and thoseindividuals having the same services assigned to them are likewiseplaced into groups together.

Groups of individuals do not necessarily need to be formed based onrequired services. In some embodiments, a group can include individualsthat do not all require the same service. In these embodiments, thepriority value associated with each individual can include a bit grouprepresenting a required service that is a factor in determiningpriority, rather than being the sole factor.

In step 620, after groups 610 and 612 have been formed, prioritizationof service provision takes place. In this step, an order for providingservices to the groups is determined. This order can be based on anumber of factors including: the time it takes to execute a service, theavailability of a service, the relative priorities of the groups ofindividuals requiring one or more services, and so on. In someembodiments, since groups are created according to priority valuescorresponding to individuals, the group having the individuals with thehighest priorities according to priority values are serviced first.

Next, in step 622, one or more services is provided to the individualpersons in a group of individuals 612 (e.g., a higher priority group)according to a logical progression of the corresponding service valuesas represented by 622 a. When a service or services are executedaccording to a logical progression, services are provided to theindividuals within a group in sequence according to the service values(e.g., S₁, S₂, S₃, and S₄) assigned to those individuals. In someembodiments, services can be applied to more than one individual at atime, but in other embodiments, only single individuals can receive aservice at a time. A logical progression can be determined based on adifficulty of providing the service or services in any other order orprogression (e.g., a logical progression can be a path of leastresistance for service provision based on the services required by theindividuals within a group and based on ease of providing thoseservice(s)).

After providing a service or services to the group of individuals 612 instep 622, step 624 describes providing another service or services tothat same group of individuals according to a second logical progressionas represented by 624 a. This step is considered optional.

It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many moremodifications besides those already described are possible withoutdeparting from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subjectmatter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification andthe claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possiblemanner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises”and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements,components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that thereferenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized,or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are notexpressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers to at leastone of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C . . . andN, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from thegroup, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc.

1. A method of providing services to individual persons, comprising:assigning priority values to each of the individual persons based atleast in part upon relative needs of those individual persons for one ormore of the services; assigning at least first and second ones of theservices, and corresponding service values, to be applied to each of theindividual persons in the first and second groups; deploying softwarethat, when executed: groups the individual persons into at least a firstgroup and a second group to be serviced according to their respectivepriority values; prioritizes servicing of the first group of individualpersons relative to the second group of individual persons; training atleast one service provider to: provide the first service to theindividual persons within the first group according to a first logicalprogression of the corresponding service values, wherein the firstlogical progression is determined at least in part according todifficulty in performing the first service in a progression other thanthe first logical progression; and provide the second service to theindividual persons according to a second logical progression of thecorresponding service values, wherein the second logical progression isdetermined at least in part according to difficulty in performing thesecond service in a progression other than the second logicalprogression.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein each priority value is adata structure comprising at least one of 32 bits, 64 bits, and 128bits.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein each priority value is brokeninto at least a first bit group and a second bit group,
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the first bit group represents a first service rule andthe second bit group represents a second service rule.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the first and second service rules each comprise atleast one of an urgency, a duration, an organizational priority, and aseverity.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein a quantity of individualpersons that can be grouped into the first and second groups is fixed.